FILM INDEX
FILM
Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Alan Morrison.
I Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (PG) (Steve Oedekerk. US. I995) Jim (‘ar‘reyu Simon (‘allowy Ian McNeice. 94 mins. This puerile. stereotyped and occasionally brilliant follow-up to the surprise hit that launched Cari'ey‘s career finds the pet detective in Africa. The natives are defined by silly rituals and a war-like nature. the English as upper-class twrts. and amongst it all. Carrey's hit-and-miss antics becortre vvearisome. Strathclyde: Cannon. L‘(‘l [East Kilbride.
I Alien Trilogy (18) (Ridley Scott/James Cameron/ David Pincher. L75. l97‘J/86/92) Sigoumey Weaver et al. Ho” 37/] H mins. The complete story of Ripley and friend. from Scott‘s edge-of-the-seat suspense thriller. through Cameron‘s Rambo In Space. to Fincher's dark. atmospheric finale. A variety of styles and scares around every corner. Edinburgh: I-‘ilmhouse.
I Les Amants du Pont-lleuf ( l8) (Leos Cams. France. 1991) Juliette Binoche. Denis Lavant. I27 mins. An artist with a degenerative eye disease meets a fire-eating down-and-otrt. and they fall in love against the backdrop of Paris‘s Pont-Neuf. A stunningly visual movie. the most expensive ever to come orrt of France. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I The American President ( )5) (Rob Reiner’. US. l995) Michael Douglas. Annette Bening. Martin Sheen. “3 mins. Widovver and leader of the Western world Andrew Shepherd (Douglas) falls for a sparky environmental lobbyist (Betting). but finds that press intrusion. opposition slrrrs and his day-to-day chores get in the way of romance. Director Reiner (When Harry Met Sally) again pulls off a perfectly balanced romantic comedy. (‘entralz SiaeRobert. I Animal Farm (U) (John Iialas d: Joy Batchelor. L‘K. I955) With the voice of Maurice Denham. 75 mins. Reasonable attempt to translate Orwell's classic into cartoon form. which is too earnest to reproduce the novel's zest
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in a satisfactory way. Puppet and Animation Festival. Central: MacRobert.
I Apollo 13 (PG) (Ron Howard. LS. 1995) Tom Hanks. Bill Paxton. Kevin Bacon. 1-10 mms. ()rr l3 April l‘)70. an oxygen tank esploded on the service module of the Apollo l3 spacecraft. leaving three astronauts stranded sorrre 200.000 miles from home. Ilovvar'd's screen retelling is a big. epic adventure with a proudly patriotic stance. The space photography is just fantastic and the acting as good as it gets. (ireat entertainment. if a little rich in the apple pie department. Iidinbtrrgh: (‘ameo Borders: Pavilion.
I Arizona Dream ( l5) (limir Kustriirca. France/US. I993) Johnny l)epp. I‘aye Dirnaway’. Jerry Lewis. 135 mins. We're talking the ‘logrc of dreams' here. so it's useless to attempt a plot synopsis. Let's just say it has l)epp as an NYC fish inspector otrt west. a bizarre love triangle with wacko Dunaway and her weirdo daughter. caddy salesman Lewis. Iiskimos and a flying machine. Sometimes inspired. often infuriating. mostly impenetrable. (ilasgovv: (ii-'1‘.
I Babe (I7) ((‘hris Noonatt. Australia. l‘)‘)5) James Cromwell. with the voices of (‘hr'rstrne Cavanaugh. .‘vliriam .‘vlargolyes. lltigo Weaving. 92 mins. An orphaned pig falls under the eye of a kindly collie arid begins to think he's destined for glory at the regional trials. 'I‘her‘e's enough skewered humour (hail the psycho mice?) for adults to discover an unexpected cult hit. A triumph for the underpig. (‘reneral release.
I Balto ([3) (Simon Wells. I'S. PMS) With the voices of Kevin Bacon. Bridget I‘onda. Bob lloskins. 78 mins. When the medical supplies to an isolated Alaskan town are threatened by a blizzard. half—htrsky/half-wolf Balto -- an outsider because of his mongrel nature — comes to the rescue. lrnpressive action sequences ensure that Amblin‘s feature-length cartoon gives Disney a run for its money. (ieneral release.
I Barton Fink I IS) (Joel (‘oerr. I'S. l‘)‘)l ) John 'I'tn‘ttrn'o. John (ioodrrrau. Judy Davis. Michael Lerner. II7 mins. When socially -corrrrrntted playwright Barton Fink ('I'rriturio) is consigned by the Hollywood machine to write wrestling films, he slumps irrio a writer's block as large as his mysterious next-door neighbour (John Goodman). The (‘oen's at their most menacing and absurd best. iidinbtirgh: I‘ilmhouse.
I The Big Sleep (PG) (Howard Hawks. LS. 1946) Humphrey Bogart. Lauren Bacall. John Ridgely. Martha Vickers. IIJ mins. Marlowe
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gets caught up in the peccadilloes of the Sternvvood family as he tries to stop a spot of blackmail. Needless to say. the broad know .s more than .slre lets on. Witty. sultry. atmospheric. mainstream film Imir with Bogey and Bacall doing their excellent double act. Stiathclyde: L'CI Iiast Kilbride. I Blade Runner i )5) (Ritrtey .s‘c-oii. t'S. It)s3) Harrison Ford. Rutger' llatiei. Scan Young. ll? mitts. A tough cop tracks down a group of rrtalftrnctiorring arrdr'oids in this gritty Iii-tech retread of Raymond (handler. e\ecuted w rtlr Scott's ctrstorrrary visual flair. and w ill) strong performances. especially from I-‘ord and Ilauer'. Iidinburgh: Iiilmhoirse. I Blade Runner: The Director's Cut 1 to mins. ()ut go the pseudo-noir‘ narration and the tacked- orr happy ending; in comes a more defrrred sense that Deckard himself may be a replrcant. Strathclyde: I'(‘I liast Kilbride. I Braveheart ( )5) (Mel (iibson. is. tons) .vrer (irbsorr. Patrick .\Ic(ioohan. Sophie Marceau. 77 mins. .\lel (iibson‘s long and bloedy account of the life of Scottrslr warrior hero William Wallace boasts sortie remarkable battle scenes and great [X'rformances Aiming to entertain on a wider scale than the rrrore literate Rob Roy. Brave/retirr's Scottish passion is tempered by a few Ilollywood moments » totrcltes of sentirrientality and 'dramatrc' historical inaccuracy. (ieneral release. I Breaking Away (PU) (Peter Yates. t's. 1))an Dennis Christopher. Dennis ()uaid. Darrrel Stern l00 rrrirrs. A teenager from smalltow n Indiana dreams of becoming a cycle champion —- or more precisely. an ltaliart cycle clrarrrpiorr. mtrclr to the irritation of his father. In the film's highlight. he and his friends challenge fellow students to a race. A brilliant comedy that's unfairly forgotten today. liife: Adam Smith. I Broken Arrow ( I 5) (John woo. t'S. HMS) John 'I‘ravolta. ('ltr rstiart Slater. Samantha Mathis. so mins. Bad gtry military pilot John Travolta ejects his partner (‘lrrrstian Slater from the cockpit while on a routine assigrtrtrettt and trips off with two lrve nuclear missiles. 'I'he script (by tlte writer of .S/teci/r falls over itself tn an attempt to set tip as rrrairy piolrlerrrs as possible for Slater to solve. biit it also offers Nertt)‘ of superior set ltreces. And Iravolta relishes playing the vrllarn See rev revv (ieneral release. I The Bruce ( l5) Sandy Welch. Uhvcr Reed. Brian Blessed. Michael van Wrrk. 'Ihe team behind (‘lruvi/rg The Deer perk tip for an assault on Bannockbtrin. If we can accept that our national sports teams tend to play w ith rrrore euthus‘tasrr) than international talent. maybe we cart also accept that of some of our filrrrmakers Sec I‘rontlrne. Iidrrtburglr: ()deon Borders Pavilion. l'rfe: .\l(i.\l. New l’rcttrre llotise. Robin's. I Casablanca (PG) (Michael ('tritr/. I'S. I‘l-l.‘_) llurrrphr‘ey Bogart. lrrgrrd Bergman. Dooley Wilson. l()2 rttrns You must rerrrerrrbci this Bogart being irrrpossrbly noble. Bergrrtarr torn between two lovers. ('larrde Rams play mg both ends against the rrrrddle. dev rorrs Na/rs. a fogboirnd airport. a prarro player trnklrrrg that ttrne. Iidmbur'gh: l'rlmhouse. I Casino ( IS) (.\lartrn Scorsese. I'S. I‘NS) Robert De Nrro. Sharon Stone. Joe I’escr I"S lllllls‘. Lifetime gambler .-\ce Rotltsterrr is chosen as the mobs mart in Vegas. and runs the casinos smoothly until things fall apart dur mg the “()s Scorsese's latest gangster epic has a torrclr of (heel; tragedy about its downfall of a sell made man. brrt it's too much in (filtltll't'.'ril\ territory to be special. The crttcirratograplry and editing are as textbook as ever. arid Stone delivers the performance of her career. A” I'( 'Is I Centenary Reels Programme 1 or) irrrrrs In) one year only. the lirrst Reels scheme trarrsforrrrs into (‘entenary' Reels. wrtlr protects that reflect an aspect ofcinerrra. This programme consists or Lucien (irive and Mark .\Ic|.;rchlan's If. .'.'\ (p. a slobbish tribute to lit/e) If! Jill). New York's homeless rerrrerirbermg their youth rrt Andrew Wilde's A! 2/. Margaret Reev es‘s Sin.’ 'lo Sax Bu! Sir/rum lv ])t'(It/. a hyper teal reconstruction of suburban Australia; Parrl (‘arrreion and (‘astlemilk Video Workshops doctrrrrentary on the rrredra rrranrprrlatrorr of ( ‘astlerrrrlk's rrrrage. lamkrire I’m 1/) lv’uei'i \. and Hannah Robinson's frlrrr rrorr Sher/ti. the story of a small trrrre gangster arid the ultimate lemme fatale (ilasgow: (il’l'. I Centenary Reels Programme 2 or 1mm. [be second prograrrrrrre consists of ( In is Hooks and .-\le\ Norrrs's L'\lX‘lllllCllI;tl documentary on the significance of light in British people's ll\L'\. lr’eiit'mrv'. .\1oya Nielsen/re .\IcI)orraltl's (ltx‘lllllc‘lllilly about transport lll ()rkrrey. '/’/:ir t[EU/51m” KIIAHIIH 'lir London. -\lr ltrrnball‘s tale of a hypnotrsed suburban housewife. furl/r. Ros (asselle's Nitrate ll'un .' llirrr. about a key piece of arcltrve trlrtr. arid a Saturday night outing seen through a toilet mirror in Wendy (it rffirr‘s .I/u HII_ .llrllrtr (ilitsgtwrx (il'Iii. I La Ceremonie .-\ Jrit/ei'irrr'lr! II: .Sti )rri' t I 5) ((‘laude (‘habroL l-tance. l‘)‘)5) Sandrrne
Borrnatre. Isabelle lltippeit. Jacqueline Brsset.
I l l mins. An illiterate maid begins work at a posh btrt isolated home in rural l-rance and begins a strange relationship w tilt the obsessive local postal clerk. ('lrabrol's masterly adaptation of Ruth chdell's troy cl is like a reworked Heaven/v (‘It'urrm'v rrreetrng a thinking-rttan’s ili/Jt’ l/(l/lil '/'/.'..'! lv’ttt It (.1 'llrt' (Vial/e lidrrrbtrrglt: l-rlrrrlrousc.
I City Hall r is) (llarold Becker. is runs) -\1 l‘acmo. John (‘usack Bridget l-oirda. | l I mins When a shooting incident between a cop and a drug dealer ends in the accidental death of a young black kid. New York .\laior‘ John Pappas (Pacino) finds himself in a crisis. Not only that. his idealistic assistant ((‘usackl is beginning to discover evidence of corruption in the background. Becker 's direction show s great control over a script that refuses to settle for simplistic morality. Pacino and (‘usack are wonderful. See rev rew. (ilasgow: ()deon. lidinburgh: .\l(i.\l. I'(‘I. Stiathclyde: l'('ls_
I The City Of lost Children ~( )5) (Jean-Pierre Jenner/Marc ('aro. I‘ldllc‘t'. I‘I‘IS) Ron Perlman. Daniel Iirriilfork. Jrrditlr \‘ittet. Ill mins. ()ir a mist shrouded orl rig. mad scientist Is'rank ages prematurely because Ire cannot dream. arid so Ire kidnaps cltrldrerr from the local port and steals rnto their sleeping hours. A visually wonderful. wacky fairytale from the makers of I)e.’rt‘irri'vve/r. that biims over with cineiiratic rrtragrnatiorr. Iidrnburgh: (‘amco
I Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Special Edition (P(})(Steveu Spielberg. I’S. l‘)77/S0) Richard Dreyfuss. I‘lilllv'tlls ’l'ruffatrt. 'l‘eri (iar'r‘. IL‘ rrtirrs. There may be addttrorral effects arid art e\terrded ending rrrstdc the alien spacecraft. but the Special Iiditiort isn’t overlong. mainly because Spielberg tightened the central section detarlrrrg Dr‘ey'fuss' growing obsession with l)ev'rl‘s Tower. A rrragnrfrceirt rrrov re. the master at hrs best. Iidinbrirgh: I'lllllllttlls’tc‘.
I A Close Shaveit’to (Nick l’ark. Its. 1005) .4) units (total prograrrrrrre time 00 rrtins). Another ()scar w in for Wallace and (irorrrrt as they uncover a sheep rustling racket at the local wool shop ()ur heroes cart also be seen Ill The Wrong lrouver v. w Irrle the rest of the Irrre rip consists of .\ardrrrarr favourites (intuit/e (til/Holly. llill' Sam and four from the lap Sine/r \t'llC\. Puppet and .v‘vrrirrratron lit'\Il\Lll (‘eirtrali .‘vlacRobert.
I Cold Fever ( IS) (l‘ridrrk 'l'hor liirdr'rksson. Iceland/(iermarry. I‘NS) .\lasotoshr Nagasc. l.ili laylor. lirsher Stevens. S5 IIIIII\. ()rre of the oddest road movies ever made. with a young Japanese roan travelling from the confines of l'okyo to the my strcal. rrtytlrrcal larrdcapcs outside Reykravrk. Very ltrrrrry. but also rather moving. as the culture clashes reveal as rrrarry similarities asdrl'ferertce. lalirrlttirght l‘rlrrrhotrse. I Cutthroat Island ( IS) ils’errrty llarlrn. I‘S. I‘NS) (‘reena Davis. \Iatthew Siodrrre. I'rauk larrrgella. IZi rrrirrs 'l Ire daughter (Day is) of at) rrrfairrorrs pirate rrrlrcrrts his ship. crew and mean reptrtatrorr as she searches for .rrr island and Irrdderr treasure. [he Hint." .‘ director llarlrn's preference for blow iiig tlrrugs tip when the actior) sags shows lack of rrrragrnatrorr and he lets it all go on too long. lot a while. though. it's a rrratrrree style torrrp through all the peg-leg
s llc'llcs trl- Iltt‘ genre (it'ltclal release
I Cyrano De Bergerac (t (tit-an t’aur [{apyx-neau. l~iarrce. l‘)‘)()) (ierard l)epardietr. Jacques Weber. Anne BrocheL \‘rrrcerrt l’cre/. I35 rrtrrts. .\ strrrrrrg adaptation of ls’ost;rrrd\ romantic tragr corrredy l‘till ol‘grandly rrrorrrtted. bristling crowd scenes. rt revolves around typically superb perforrrrartce Irorrt l)epardretr as the large nosed hero Although pctforrrred rrr rhyrrrrng verse throughout (w ill) subtitles by .r\rrthor)_v Burgess). and a touch overlortg. the film’s drarrtatrc and crrrerrratrc tllllllllls‘\ are outstanding. lidrnbtrigh: (Kirrreo.
I Dead Man Walking t 15M lrrtr Robbins. I'S.
l‘NS) Susan Sarartdorr. Sean Penn. Robert Prosky l_‘_‘ rrrrus :\ rum (Sarandon) begins her own drflrctrlt spiritual )orrrrrey when she bccoirres religious adv rsor to a brutal rrrurdcrer (l’eirrr) facing the death penalty Sararrdon'u presence is rrtrslrowy and corrtrrutted. Penn's
v rv id artd deeply insightful, and Is’obbrrts‘s achieverirent is to make a Illl‘.) whose intensity and corrrpasston ranks it far above the usual rrrrr irl lltrllyvsiitxl pulp filings)“ ()tlic'ttll. Paikhead. Iidrrrbrrrgh' ('arrreo. I'('l. Stratlrclyde: I ‘( l('lydebarrk.
I Delicatessen t IS) (Jean l’reire Jerinet. Marc ('aio. lirarrcc. I‘NI ) l)orrrrr)rqrie l’rrrort. \latie Laure Dotrgrrac. Jean Claude l>teyltrs ‘N rrrrrts. In a sepia wasteland sorrrewherc it) the ftrture. a butcher feeds his neighbours with the juicy ilstlllls of his lodgers Brit when former clown I.orrrson (Prrrorr) arrives and falls for his darrglrter. an underground vegetarian resistance group come to the rescue. Hilarious blertd of bizarre
characters. slapstick and corrrrc tension lidrrrbtrrgh' (‘artreo
I Devil In A Blue Dress i IS ) (('atl l‘ranklm. I'S. l‘)‘)i) l)err/el Washington. Jennifer Beals. l‘orrt Si/errrore. l0: trims l’lre social tealrsrr) attd detailed atrrrosplrere rerrrarrr true in l'ranklrn's
24 The List 5-I8 Apr 1996